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In today’s world, where technology has literally changed the way we live, think and go about our daily lives, having a website for your business has become mandatory to succeed in the corporate realm. It is simply foolish to ignore the strength of internet and how powerful a tool it is for your marketing needs.

“If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business”

–Bill Gates

In the eyes of the customer, a website is a complete reflection of the organization it represents. This is the sole reason why most of the firms pay thousands of dollars just to have a unique and comprehensive website design. Others, however, like to do this by themselves just to cut the cost of what they deem as unnecessary. Now although I favor doing most of the things myself, I strongly believe that the website designing should be handled only by the professionals and here are few reasons why.

A professional web designer does not only design your website using bright colors and patterns, there is so much more that goes in the designing process. True, a website must be attractive enough to attract more customers but at the same time it needs various other features as well, for example, easy navigation. Visitors don’t want a website that’s hard to browse through. With a professional web designer at your service, you can make your website a plain sailing for your visitors and at the same time generate more traffic. Similarly, a professional web designer also helps in the search engine optimization of your website which, in today’s world, has become an absolute necessity. A good rating on a search engine ensures a constant stream of traffic to your website and helps you in increasing your brand awareness in the targeted audience. Another important factor that a professional website absolutely must have is the browser compatibility. With so many different types of browser out there, you should make sure that your website runs smoothly on any browser. Another popular trend today in the market is mobile responsive web design which makes it easier for your website to be accessed from any mobile device with any screen size or browser. A professional web designer helps your website perform and display its content in the same effective way as it was meant to, making your website a charm and helping you in being one step ahead of your competitors.

All in all, there are tons of reasons for you to hire a professional web designer for your website. Even though there are tons of companies out there who would let you make your own website simply by using or editing the already present templates, it is no good for your business in the long term.The fact is as soon as you realize the importance of a good web site design; you will immediately realize that hiring a professional for this job would be a wise and fruitful investment on your part, making it much easier for you to enjoy a successful and memorable presence on the internet.

Having a website is not enough to make your presence felt online because to be competitive an IT consulting service will be necessary. With a reliable information technology company, you’ll be more than prepared to enter the world of e-commerce and provide customers with the service they expect.

IT Services You Can Expect

An IT company can help you in many ways, including the following:

Support for multiple platforms including Unix, Linux, Mac and Windows

Sales and service for the platform you are using

Support for the type of business you are conducting, be it a small or medium sized enterprise

Technical advice

There is also IT companies that provide installation assistance for your platform, with highly trained experts and personnel who won’t just oversee the operation, but also provide support every step of the way. Of all the services they provide, multiple platform support is one of the most important as it will allow you to reach a wider consumer base.

Other Benefits

Because of the type of service these companies provide, you’ll be able to devote your complete attention to your product or service. Rather than worry about the technical aspects of building your site you can just focus on work. In addition, a good company won’t just provide basic IT solutions but also help you out in case there are technical problems or you need to upgrade the system.

What all this means is your company will be able to increase productivity and have a secured environment where data can be processed without worrying about security and technical failure. As anyone who has worked in this industry will tell you, a sound IT infrastructure is essential not just for greater productivity but also to entice experts in the field to work for you.

These days there’s no shortage of companies providing website design services, but for your company to be successful and stand out from the rest, you need specific features and services. In short you must have a website that will appeal to your target market and yet flexible enough to handle their demands.

The Essential Features

The specifics will depend on the product or service you’re offering, but regardless of what it is, you need to ask your web designer for the following.

Security

Customizability

Easy to Navigate

Integration with the processes your service or product requires

The last point is particularly important because customers today are looking for information and results, so it’s vital for websites to not just be easy on the eyes, but be effective too.

Trademarks of a Good Custom Website Design

A well designed website doesn’t just have attractive graphics, as the pages are also arranged in such a way that a user won’t have any problems navigating and finding what he/she is looking for. Second, a good site designer will install a CMS (content management system) so the webmaster will have an easier time managing the information on the site. However, a website should offer more than just visual appeal as it must also be optimized for search engines so potential customers can find your site. It’s also not uncommon for these designers to launch your website for you.

Other essential features are high quality photos for use in your site (if you don’t have any), an “About Us” page, and a sitemap to help users find their way around your e-commerce website. Sitemaps in particular are critical for a large site with several links. Finally, no good website is complete without a request forum, email and other means by which a visitor can communicate with you.

Let professional web designers plan and implement your websites. They know how to create websites that are secure, customizable, easy to navigate, and integrated with other software services.

No matter how small your company is, it would benefit you to have a finance consultant to help organize finances and track performance. Most small-to medium-sized businesses can’t afford the six-figure salaries that come along with hiring a CFO, so a temporary finance consultant is the overall best solution when it comes to effectively running a successful company. Here are several reasons why you should consider retaining a finance consultant:

1. You want to increase your profits more rapidly. All business owners would like to increase profitability and control expenses. However, increasing profit isn’t as easy as it sounds. It requires a professional who has the tools, knowledge and the software to guide a business through the process.

2. You would like to have a better understanding of cost of sales. In a competitive marketplace, controlling the cost of sales is a key aspect to the success of your business. Quality control, customer service, and negotiation for the best possible payment terms with vendors are steps you can take to ensure reducing the cost of sales. Additionally, you can optimize the shipment process, optimize packaging and evaluate the pricing of raw materials.

3. You have never done an analysis of total revenue vs. unit sales. Your business may experience a significant increase in total revenue due to a price increase and you may be presented with a false picture. Tracking the sales numbers by unit will give you a more detailed view. This method of tracking will give you a chance to track if customers are returning your products, or if you need a more involved comparative analysis.

4. You need to have instant access to your business’s financial position. Business owners must make an effort to prepare their monthly financials such as income statements, balance sheets and the cash flow statement. Even if it seems to be all Greek, the business owner must know the numbers to properly direct the business. A finance consultant can make sense of those numbers in plain language.

5. You want to know the liquidity of your company. Understanding your cash position is vital. That’s why business owners should reconcile their bank statements monthly. Your bookkeeper or accountant should make sure that the general ledger agrees with the statements, meaning that all deposits and withdrawals are matching. For example, if your bank statements show a $2,500 withdrawal, that should be reflected in your ledger.

6. You want to manage your inventory. Keeping track of the items in your shelves or in your warehouse takes expertise. If you have inventory that you purchased last year, and it’s been sitting idle, that inventory should be discounted and turned to cash immediately. Buying too much, or insufficient, inventory may hurt your business. A finance consultant will help you work through the details and find an equitable balance that works for you.

7. You are challenged with understanding your company’s break-even analysis. Knowing your monthly expenses (both fixed and variable costs) will help in setting monthly goals and sales expectations. A business owner needs a cash flow projection to cover all expenses. Based on the above analyses, there may be a need to slash some expenses, to launch a new advertising campaign, or look into a new, less expensive supplier.

8. You want to have a better understanding of your company’s payroll expenses. There should be a direct relationship between payroll expenses and revenue. Businesses may face an increase in labor expenses and it may be necessary to adjust the payroll or increase the sales costs of products and services.

9. You want to know if your business is projected to succeed. If your business is not netting an adequate profit, adjustments need to be made to assure that your business is worth your time and energy. A finance consultant has the business financial expertise to assist you in turning your business in a more profitable direction.

10. You want to posture your business for lender assistance. Wouldn’t it be nice if lenders called you to offer you loans? A finance consultant will help you position your company to fulfill your business’s financial needs. They will help you prepare a winning loan package that will get you the funding you need for your business.

11. You wish to make financial decisions on solid advice. Most business owners have no finance background. Therefore, they make decisions based on a “gut reaction.” A finance consultant will assist you in creating a solid foundation to make the right decisions.

12. You don’t have time to keep up with technology advancements that are applicable to your business. Bringing extra efficiency, more efficiency and maximum protection to your business is a must. However, if you are running your business, you have little or no time to think about these essential parts of your business. A financial consultant will ensure that your company is staying competitive in the field of technology.

A finance consultant will provide support and help to avoid some of the problems your company faces in today’s economic climate. Getting your company ahead and bringing more profitability to your business is what a finance consultant does best.

Although there are many web design companies available, the services they provide are not equal, and you can see it in the finished product. If you’ll notice, some company web pages are poorly designed, which is why it is crucial you make the right decision when it comes to hiring a designer.

CMS Knowledge is required

Gone are the days when a webpage just needed photos, links and text, because now the interactivity is the name of the game. To get the most from your online presence, the company must be versed in open source CMS (Content Management System) platforms such as Drupal, Joomla or WordPress. With an integrated CMS platform you’ll be able to manage the content of your website easily, and under the hands of a skilled designer you will end up with just one page to oversee your site’s functions, very handy.

Other Factors to Consider

A good site designer will do more than just add images to your site as they’ll also set up a system that makes it easy for you to upload multimedia content, link the site to specific domains, edit and more. In addition, custom site design along with CMS gives you the opportunity to choose from a wide array of plug-ins, themes, colors and other features that will add appeal to the layout design. Here are things you should expect from your web designer:

Stunning, fast, creative, and effective designs

Well laid out web pages to improve navigation for the user

Attractive visual design that identifies and works for your target market

Clear instructions and labeling for a perfect user experience

Private in progress viewing during design and development

Content Management System allowing you to easily edit your website

Basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to help you with search engine ranking

A sitemap to help visitors find what they are looking for

Search engine friendly navigation menu

Aside from creating a site that’s easy to navigate, the web designer can configure your site so it is Google friendly, thus making it easier for users to find your site. While a basic designer can make a site search engine friendly, CMS platforms are SEO optimized so traffic in your site will increase rapidly. By hiring a web designer that provides CMS services, you’ll have an easier time supporting several sites and provide authorized access to users anywhere they are, essential if you are sharing information.

In this fast paced ICT driven business world, the above question seems rhetorical. There is almost no business that aims for real success in the world today without relying on information technology in one form or the other. Whether to back up data or to sell their wares electronically, companies continue to use these smart tools to make work easier and more productive.

Since that is the case presently (and with hindsight, predictably in the future), in comes the IT people – men and women of the great skills in handling computer related matters effectively. The question however is not whether you need them at all – that is settled and is a resounding yes; the dilemma is whether you need them on a permanent staff basis. Once again, we rely on hindsight, and the answer is an emphatic No! Little wonder the geeks, techies, and nerds themselves are becoming more independent by the day, setting up IT consultancy firms. The following three points buttress that it is better to hire an IT consultant on a contractual basis than as a full-time staff.

1. You save money. Having an IT engineer on a permanent employment is not a very wise business strategy. For one, it is not every day that you set up servers, experience hard disk crashes, or need to repair networking modems; these are the jobs that are better handled by a good IT consultant who gets paid for the work he does and that deal ends there.

You should look to pay on the hourly or contractual basis thereby saving money on idle hours or taxes and other such fees connected to full-time staffing. You win all the way; the problem has been fixed by an expert, and you have saved money tremendously.

2. You increase employee productivity. What business does Human Resources officers have with trying to fix a server when other jobs are beckoning; or what concern does an accountant has in trying to recover lost data when he/she should be balancing accounts? Lost man-hours in companies where non-IT people are saddled with the responsibility of trying to fix IT related problems can be better managed and geared towards better and more productive things.

Specialization and professionalism is what makes a business grow and develop to do its aims. People without IT skills should be allowed to do their own jobs while an IT consultant is called in to fix the problem. Employees seem to be more productive when their work is streamlined and well-defined; that’s a fact.

3. Save time. Time wasted on guessing what the problem might be or reading up on how-to articles kill company productivity a lot. Just call in an IT consultant and get it done efficiently and on time. Whether your server is hanging or data is lost due to viruses, a good IT consultant would spend lesser time in diagnosing the problem and proffering a lasting solution. By this, you would have saved time spending just a little fraction of what your full-time IT employee would have earned for that day.

There are more reasons why IT support from professional consultants are far better than full-time IT staff; but with these three above, it is clear where the

Don’t spend so much hiring full time IT staff who eventually would have little or no work to do most of the day; rely instead on tech consultant who would get the job done and at a very competitive rate.

Finance consulting is a very important part of the business world. The ability and advice people in this field offer government, large corporations and small businesses or even people go a long way in shaping what world economics looks like. Therefore, whether as a small startup, a retiree, or a large corporation, having the advice of a team of financial experts backing your decisions on where and how to spend your money can make all the difference between wealth and poverty; this is true owing to the daily news of people who have lost money and life savings in one business or the other because of ignorance of the law or inability to understand complex numbers.

Finance consultants are highly educated people well experienced in the line of professionally helping corporate bodies and private individuals with finance-related matters. Big and small companies need financing consultants to recommend and help them plan their business in the line of commercial loans, business lines of credit, SBA loans, financing options and strategies, etc.

The research, analysis, and projections offered by this set of people are detailed, unbiased, and professional with a contingency plan for all their assertions. The difference between a fresh finance graduate and a financial consultant is the experience the latter has, which the former is yet to acquire. Most finance consultants have as much as 10 to 15 years of working experience in the financial industry before venturing into the consulting world.

Finance consulting professionals give advice to business owners on many matters that concern clients’ specific industries in question; Issues such as risk assessment, business viability, feasibility of the business, long-term profit projections, etc. Other things they do for clients include financial due diligence, business development, financial forecasting and planning, financial controls and systems development, and so much more.

Finance consulting experts are very important for small startups just as they are necessary for large firms in their business forecasting and analysis efforts, profit improvement drive, banking and cash management, and so much more. The services they offer startups in different industries are important and worthwhile.

Offering the right advice without bias, fear, or favor is usually the watchword of good finance consultants; it is indeed important for clients to also stay open to receiving such candid advices instead of pressurizing the consultant to say what they want to hear only. Having a clear understanding of the implications of wrong advice or wrong application of financial projections can save a firm or a private person from catastrophe.

For business concerns with complex financial portfolios to manage, it is even more crucial to contract the right set of finance consulting professionals to proffer proper guidance on how to manage such funds properly; this is perhaps the only way to keep up such fortune and make it grow even more. In the end, the fee they charge would have been worth it after all.

Get professional finance consultants to further guide you in the business finance decision making processes to achieve your general business objectives; it is indeed worth the while.